1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bodkin used for, for example, drawing an elastic string or the like through an appropriate portion in a clothing product or a needle craft product, such as a waist portion of a skirt or pants.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, various types of bodkins used for drawing an elastic string or the like have been proposed (see JP 2014-105420A, for example). The bodkin described in JP 2014-105420A includes a clip portion (4) and a bar portion (5) connected to the clip portion. The clip portion (4) has an upper holding plate (1), a lower holding plate (2), and an operation plate (3). The operation plate is connected to rear end portions of the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate. Front end portions of the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate are opened and closed by rotating the operation plate. The bar portion (5) is integrally connected to a rear end portion of the operation plate.
According to the thus configured bodkins, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7A, etc. in JP 2014-105420A, when the bar portion is rotated to be perpendicular to the upper and lower holding plates, the front end portions of the upper and lower holding plates can be opened. In this state, as shown in FIG. 7B, a holding target object such as an elastic string, for example, is placed between the front end portions of the upper and lower holding plates, and the bar portion is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 7B to be parallel to the upper and lower holding plates. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 7C, the front end portions of the upper and lower holding plates are closed, and the holding target object can be held between the upper and lower holding plates. With the operation that rotates the relatively long bar portion, the operation plate formed in one piece with the bar portion is rotated. Accordingly, the upper and lower holding plates can be opened and closed with a small force.
The bodkin holding the holding target object is drawn through, for example, a tubular casing such as a waist portion of a skirt. When drawing the bodkin through the casing, the bodkin is pushed forward with the bar portion serving as a leading end and the clip portion (the upper and lower holding plates) holding the holding target object following the bar portion. At that time, the bar portion and the upper and lower holding plates may rotate relative to each other. With this rotation, the upper and lower holding plates are opened, and the holding target object is released from the bodkin. Consequently, the operation has to be performed again from the first step, which impairs the ease of use.
In the case of a waist portion of a skirt and the like, the casing on the whole is in the shape of a ring, and is curved as appropriate. Accordingly, when the conventional bodkin is drawn through such a casing, the bar portion and the upper and lower holding plates easily rotate relative to each other due to the influence of the curved portion of the casing, and, thus, the above-described problem easily occurs.